False rumor that 2K ICE officers walked off job protesting Trump spreads online

This claim appeared to originate from a YouTube page called Defeat Trump Network.

In January 2026, a claim spread online that more than 2,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers had surrendered their guns and walked off the job in protest of President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

The claim spread on Facebook and YouTube. Snopes readers also wrote in and searched the website to ask if the claim had any basis in fact.

💥JUST IN: 2000 ICE Cops SURRENDER THEIR GUNS and WALK OUT ON T.R.U.M.P In STRONG DEFIANCE This Afternoon?!⚡ Washington, D.C. has descended into TOTAL CHAOS after reports emerged this afternoon that over 2000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dramatically surrendered their firearms and walked off the job in an unprecedented act of rebellion against President Donald Trump. According to eyewitness accounts and circulating video footage, the mass walkout unfolded swiftly as agents turned in their weapons en masse, with some publicly declaring they would no longer enforce what they called

(Facebook user World Reports Now )

However, based on a Google search, no reputable news outlets have reported on the alleged protest. If more than 2,000 ICE agents had indeed walked off the job, the event would be considered newsworthy.

Furthermore, the earliest version (screenshotted) of the claim available online was not from a credible source, and subsequent versions of the claim showed clear signs of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

As such, we have rated this claim false.

Claim seemingly originated from YouTube account

This claim appeared to originate from a YouTube page called Defeat Trump Network, which posted a Jan. 11, 2026, video (archived) titled, "WOW: 2000 ICE Cops SURRENDER THEIR GUNS and WALK OUT ON TRUMP this afternoon?!"

The actual content of the video, however, did not include anything about ICE officers supposedly surrendering their guns and walking off the job in protest of Trump. Instead, the Defeat Trump Network video appeared to reuse legitimate footage by reputable news outlets that did not concern the claim.

For example, the first clip in the "Defeat Trump Network" video came from actual CNN coverage of protests following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. CNN posted the footage on YouTube, which meant anyone could screen record or download it for repurposing.

The description of the video with the claim about ICE agents protesting included an MSN link to an op-ed that claimed "a growing number of former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are coming forward, exposing the disturbing work conditions and internal pressure that led to their resignations."

However, nowhere in the MSN story did the author state that 2,000 ICE officers had surrendered their guns and walked off the job. The MSN story cited a July 2025 report by The Atlantic about discontented ICE agents. (The Atlantic also did not report the 2,000 number, instead referencing interviews with "a dozen current and former ICE agents and officers.")

Claim doesn't come from credible sources

Numerous signs indicated that the YouTube page Defeat Trump Network did not produce legitimate news.

The Defeat Trump Network's description had social media links directing viewers to accounts associated with Christo Aivalis, a commentator who covers Canadian — not American — politics.

Snopes reached out to the email address connected to Defeat Trump Network, which used Aivalis' name, and did not immediately hear back. Aivalis also did not immediately return an inquiry sent via his Substack account about his apparent connections to the YouTube page.

The profile picture for Defeat Trump Network appeared to show a person who does not exist, according to reverse image searches using TinEye and Google Images. Two artificial-intelligence (AI) image detection tools — Sight Engine and Hive Moderation — determined there was a 99% chance AI software helped create the profile picture.

While these tools are not always foolproof, the reverse image searches coupled with the AI detection tools indicated a preponderance of evidence in favor of the profile picture being the product of AI.

Less than an hour after Snopes first uploaded the Defeat Trump Network profile picture into these tools, the profile picture changed from an image of a young blonde woman to one showing a man and a dog. That second image was also likely AI-generated, according to Sight Engine and Hive Moderation.

Other posts that spread the claim also showed clear signs of artificial intelligence. For example, a YouTube video included a disclaimer in its description that read, "Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated" (screenshotted). Many Facebook posts with the claim came from pages claiming to cover American news but the pages' managers were based in Vietnam — a phenomenon Snopes has previously reported on.

Also, details in some posts with the claim did not hold up to further scrutiny.

For example, the Facebook account World Reports Now claimed, "Union representatives had previously warned of brewing discontent, pointing to escalating internal fury over aggressive deportation policies, staffing shortages, and mounting legal challenges." In reality, ICE's union dissolved in 2022, which meant there were no union representatives to warn of the supposed discontent.